Office of Arts & Culture news and events

As you walk, bike or drive along Denny Way, you’ll likely notice what appears to be a bright blue tarp, tangled on the fence. This is the second in a year-long series of performance and temporary installations called ALL RISE, at the site of the future Seattle City Light electrical substation in the Cascade neighborhood. The city-block sized site will come alive with various visual and performance-based works over the next 14 months, through spring, 2015.

The latest work , offing, by Jenene Nagy is over 220 feet long, made of printed industrial mesh tarp and paint, and is intended to call to mind an idealized horizon. The artist describes the horizon line as, “one with all the luminosity of a crystal clear sky and a boundless ceiling.”

Nagy’s practice often uses a vernacular of common building materials to create a link to the manmade environment while the gesture and movement of her forms simultaneously reference dynamic natural structures. Nagy’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues including the Portland Art Museum, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Torrance Art Museum, Takt Kunstprojektraum in Berlin, Germany, and Dam Stuhltrager in NY, among others.

Keep an eye out for future installations, and if you snap a photo, us #allriseseattle.

We could not be more thrilled to announce that internationally recognized artist Ann Hamilton has been selected for a commission on the new public piers as part of Waterfront Seattle. Hamilton, known for large-scale, sensory installations, is the recipient of a MacArthur “genius grant” and has also represented the United States at the Venice Biennale. She will join a team of architects, planners and city designers to create the project over the next several years.

Waterfront Seattle is the large-scale project to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with 26 acres of new public space, streets, parks, and buildings. The public piers will be rebuilt as part of the Seawall Bond passed by voters in 2012. Hamilton is known for recent installations such as the event of a thread at the Park Avenue Armory in New York (image, left), and tower · Oliver Ranch, in Geyserville, California. Seattle audiences will recognize her LEW Wood Floor at the Seattle Central Library, with raised letters spelling out the first sentences from books in the library’s collection in 11 languages. In addition, the Henry Art Gallery will host an eponymous exhibition of Hamilton’s work for six months starting October of this year.

It’s not determined yet what Ann will build. But if it’s anything like the rest of her career, it’s sure to be thought-provoking, eye catching, and a bit dreamy. Check out this video of the event of a thread and start imagining what she might create on our Waterfront.

The American Alliance of Museums Annual Conference will be held in Seattle May 18-21. This event is the largest gathering of museum professionals in the world, with expected attendance of 5,000+. The conference is looking for great people to fill more than 700 volunteer shifts. Each four-hour volunteer shift worked earns you ONE FREE DAY PASS for the conference. Volunteers must be local and able to attend a training session. Email aam2014volunteers@shworldwide.com for more info.

We’re so proud to announce a nearly $1.7 million investment in Seattle-based arts, heritage and cultural organizations through our Civic Partners program. This program will provide funding to nearly 170 organizations in 2014 with the intention of creating broad public access to a rich array of quality arts opportunities while promoting a healthy and diverse cultural community. Check out the full list of funded partners here.

“Seattle is a desirable place to live because of our robust cultural community,” said Mayor Murray about the announcement. “The arts make our city vibrant and connects our communities. This investment ensures that our cultural organizations can remain innovative while providing opportunities for residents and visitors to experience a broad array of offerings.”

“The Civic Partner grant helps us to offer programs in young artist development and community engagement, and opens our doors to local artists,” said, Josh LaBelle, executive director of Seattle Theatre Group, the organization that operates the historic Paramount, Moore and Neptune Theatres. “Last season Seattle Theatre Group welcomed over half a million people through our doors through over 500 events. Nearly 900 professional artists worked with our Education Department and nearly the same number of youth participated in artist training programs. The economic impact to Seattle is extensive.”

“Civic Partners helps us ensure there are no gaps in service to our youth,” explains Daniel Pak, co-director of Totem Star, a music, mentorship, and social justice education organization that is a first-time grantee this year. “Totem Star uses music production as a conduit to empower youth with life skills to help them navigate the system. These funds directly impact under-served youth in Seattle.”

Big announcement today – we released the list of our latest grant recipients from the Neighborhood & Community Arts program (NCA for short); the $50,000 investment in the NCA program put our total investment in the arts and cultural community since the Office was founded in 1971 at over $50 million. Yes, $50 million! We did the math several times to make sure it’s right (with the diligent assistance of the lovely people at HistoryLink.org), because it’s an awfully big number. But that’s it – $50 million.

Funding awards for NCA recipients will go to over 40 neighborhood arts festivals and events. The NCA program will invest $1,200 per organization in events taking place in 18 neighborhoods throughout the city. 82 applications were received for the program; of the 42 funded projects, 14 represent first-time applicants to the program and 22 specifically serve immigrants and communities of color.

In an effort to better serve the community, the Office is transitioning the NCA program to a two-year support program starting in 2014. The top 20 panel-ranked grantees this year will be offered two years of funding (2014 and 2015) without re-applying. All others will be funded for one year, and offered the opportunity to apply, along with other groups, for two-year funding next year.

The varied slate of community events includes the APRIL Festival, a small press and independent literature festival; the Chinese Arts & Culture Festival, providing a comprehensive look at Chinese culture through performing arts, music, visual arts displays and crafts; the Georgetown Carnival, a showcase of the diverse communities in the historic Georgetown industrial arts corridor; the NEPO 5K Don’t Run, an annual art walk spread across a 5km route from the International District to Beacon Hill; the Social Justice Film Festival, which features short and feature-length documentaries and narrative films; and the Women Who Rock unconference, honoring women involved in Seattle music scenes.

NCA supports neighborhood groups that produce recurring festivals or events that promote arts and cultural participation, build community and enhance the visibility of neighborhoods through arts and culture. Keep an eye out for the 2014 application process, and check out the complete listing of events and festivals funded for 2014.

Click here for more information on all the funding programs offered by the Office of Arts & Culture.

From increased investments in arts education and cultural space, to celebrating the 40th anniversary of our 1% for Art program, to welcoming Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute into the Office, 2013 was a dramatic year of growth and development and we look forward to an even more exciting 2014.

We will continue to expand our investments in the community through the return of the Arts Mean Business funding program, and the development of a Cultural Space Toolkit that will give communities the ability to sustain cultural activity in their neighborhoods. 2013 saw a significant increase in our ability to support the arts and culture ecology of Seattle. With more funding capacity and increased technical assistance, we hope to see even better things in 2014.

We will also build on our efforts to utilize arts and culture to advance placemaking work across the city. There are a whole host of activities planned for the year related to the waterfront redevelopment, from artist residencies to conferences to storefronts. We will also build on the success of our Seattle Presents and temporary public art projects to expand our work on downtown activation.

The creative communities of this city make it a unique and desirable place to be. When we are able to harness and leverage the arts and cultural resources we are so fortunate to have, we can create bring vitality and energy from downtown, to South Park, to Northgate.

We deeply appreciate all of the work of the arts and culture community in Seattle. You are all a constant source of inspiration, and we look forward to working to innovate ways to support and amplify your work.

The application for the Creative Advantage community arts partner roster will launch Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014.

Teaching artists and community arts and culture organizations can apply to be listed as a provider of school-based residencies and trainings for Seattle Public school teachers on integrated arts strategies. Technical assistance workshops will be provided for all interested parties once the application opens.

If you have any questions, contact Lara Davis at lara.davis@seattle.gov or (206) 615-1879.

Wow! As we reflect back on the last year, it’s clear our Office has been busy. We’ve celebrated a number of milestones and launched quite a few new initiatives. We had to make some hard choices to get our list down to just 10 – let us know about your top arts and culture moments of 2013 in the comments.

On that note, here we go!

10. Launched The Creative Advantage, a partnership with the school district and The Seattle Foundation, to provide access to arts education for all Seattle students. Our first investments have been in the Central District this fall, where, for the first time in nearly 40 years, K-2nd graders are all singing in music classes.

9. The Pike-Pine Corridor was named one of America’s Top Twelve ArtPlaces, communities that successfully combine the arts, artists, and venues for creativity and expression with independent businesses, restaurants, and a walkable lifestyle to make vibrant neighborhoods.

3. Celebrated the 40th anniversary of the public art program (check out works from the collection that we highlighted here). This year also saw two public artworks (SODO by merge conceptual design, and Art Interruptions, a new temporary art program) named in Americans for the Arts’ 2013 Year in Review, the only national program recognizing projects of excellence in public art.

1. And our number one highlight of 2013: Our director, Randy Engstrom, was confirmed, which provided the means to accomplish all we did in 2013!

It’s been a great year, and we’re eagerly looking forward to 2014 and all the new adventures it will bring. Thanks for being part of our amazing arts and culture community in Seattle – we are continually inspired by the work you do.

Cheers, and happy New Year!

Calandra Childers, communications manager

Images:

Superintendent Jose Banda assists with an art lesson at John Muir Elementary School

Josephine Howell wowed audiences with her portrayal of the venerable ‘Moms’ Mabley

Seattle, with its long growing season and an environmentally-conscious population, provides many opportunities for its residents to participate in urban agriculture, producing food both in our backyards and in our shared public spaces.

In 2012, the public art program commissioned Nicole Kistler to be Artist-in-Residence for Urban Agriculture, to investigate and propose ways in which art can reinforce the activities of people who engage in urban farming and can enhance the places in the city where urban agriculture occurs. Kistler’s overriding premise is that urban agriculture and art making can be intertwined to build and promote community. This community-building in turn strengthens the city as a whole, knitting its diverse fabric of neighborhoods into the broader metropolis that values its sense of place.

Kistler, a landscape architect and public artist, interviewed individuals, teams and organizations in the non-profit and government sector. She visited and surveyed the many types of public locations where urban agriculture occurs, and noted how art activation currently occurs in these spaces. She also researched art activities that relate to food production, both current and historic. The artist codified the information collected into agriCULTURE, an art plan that proposes strategies and guiding principles that can be employed to encourage the integration of art activities with the practice of urban farming. Her analysis and recommendations are framed around six overarching concepts.

This art plan is rich with examples, images and recommendations. We hope that it will be both interesting and helpful to artists, city staff and urban agriculturalists, whose work enlivens the cultural and agricultural landscape of Seattle.

On November 7 and 8, our Office’s Public Art team hosted a gathering of the Northwest Public Art Administrators Consortium, a regional convening of the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network. Administrators from programs throughout the northwest – Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia – met at MakerHaus, a co-working space in Fremont, to share information, provide resources and generate ideas related to the management and implementation of public art projects. Good conversation, many a-ha moments, a lot of camaraderie and support all around. Thanks to everybody who participated with us!